Julianne Trautmann and Tricia Widner Johnson
The purpose of this research is to determine if bulimic behaviors and high levels of neuroticism lead to compulsive clothing buying. Female students from a large midwestern…
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to determine if bulimic behaviors and high levels of neuroticism lead to compulsive clothing buying. Female students from a large midwestern university in the United States were administered a Compulsive Clothing Buying scale, the binging/control subscale of the BULIT-R, and the NEO-FFI personality questionnaire. Using Amos 6.0, a path analysis indicated that neuroticism significantly predicted binging behaviors, and binging tendencies significantly predicted compulsive clothing buying. Neuroticism was not found to be related to compulsive clothing buying directly. Findings may suggest that appearance and appearance-related products are of utmost importance to female consumers who engage in compulsive consumption behaviors (i.e., binging or compulsive buying).
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This study investigates personality facets and demographics as predictors of the following fashion adoption categories: fashion innovation, fashion opinion leadership, and fashion…
Abstract
This study investigates personality facets and demographics as predictors of the following fashion adoption categories: fashion innovation, fashion opinion leadership, and fashion opinion seeking. Everett Rogers’ ideal types and the Five Factor Model are the theoretical frameworks applied in the study. Data are collected via a mailed questionnaire returned by 285 participants in the United States. Regression results demonstrated that income is a significant positive predictor for fashion innovativeness.
Additional findings showed that gender as well as the personality facets of actions and achievement striving are significant predictors for fashion opinion leading. Age, gender, education, and the personality facet of deliberation are significant predictors for fashion opinion seeking. In the present study, there is no overlap among the variables found to be significant predictors of fashion innovation, fashion opinion leading, and fashion opinion seeking. The results imply that neither personality nor demographics are the common characteristics between any two of the three adoption categories. Implications for future research on fashion adoption categories are discussed.
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Tricia Widner Johnson and Sally K. Francis
Consumers become members of style tribes when a specific style of dress is adopted. Personality may be one variable related to consumers' personal style of dress. Students in a…
Abstract
Consumers become members of style tribes when a specific style of dress is adopted. Personality may be one variable related to consumers' personal style of dress. Students in a fashion trend analysis course identified and described eleven style tribes on a university campus in the United States. Eight of the eleven style tribe descriptions’ were associated with designer names, brands, and/or specific retailers. The style tribe data were used to develop a questionnaire for the present study.
Data were then collected from 277 undergraduate college students who completed two questionnaires: 1) the NEO PI-R, an instrument designed to measure the five personality factors of the Five Factor Model and 2) a questionnaire with eleven style tribe descriptions.
Data were analyzed using canonical correlation. The major finding from the present study was that although personality was related to dress style, subjects reportedly adopted multiple dress styles. The findings of this investigation have theoretical implications regarding the social/psychological aspects of appearance and dress, and the marketing and retailing of appearance management products associated with designer names, brands, and/or retailers.
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Allie S. Grotts and Tricia Widner Johnson
This paper aims to examine a consumer segment, Millennial, and its status and conspicuous consumption tendencies. The current research was conducted to determine if handbags can…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine a consumer segment, Millennial, and its status and conspicuous consumption tendencies. The current research was conducted to determine if handbags can be used as a symbolic representation of status.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 598 females participated in this study through an electronically administered questionnaire. Eastman, Goldsmith, and Flynn's Status Consumption Scale was altered with permission and used to test and measure the status consumption of handbags.
Findings
The research findings indicated that handbags are being used in the process of status consumption and suggested characteristics of female Millennial consumers who are likely to use this process.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are limited to 18‐25 year old females in the United States, at a Midwestern university and cannot be generalized to other nationalities or age cohorts. The findings in this study are valuable in adding to the literature on status consumption by examining a product domain not previously studied for its ability to convey status and facilitate a complete self.
Practical implications
The findings are valuable to marketers because defining traits of Millennial consumers, a unique target market, have been discovered and proper marketing tactics may be deployed with the use of these results in the marketplace.
Originality/value
This paper fills a gap in the literature by examining handbags, which have not previously been researched for their status and conspicuous consumption abilities in an appropriate sample of college Millennial aged females.